Resurrection
by The Charming Ones
Summary: Witchcraft. Romance. Death. College. Demons. The Source of All Evil. And, of course, resurrection. Sometimes it sucks to be a witch... See profile for full summary.
1. Prologue

Hi, I'm one of the three authors. I just wanted to explain a couple of things before you start the story. My two friends and I, a trio of witches, take over the Charmed Ones' responsibilities after they stop fighting demons. This first chapter is in third person, but all the rest will be in first. The chapter title will tell you whose point of view it's from. On to the story!

Wait, sorry. Disclaimer: We don't own anything you recognize. This goes for all upcoming chapters.

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The clock said 5:30 am. As 19-year-old Raven lay in bed, she could hear the water running in the shower. She got up and walked down the hall to the bathroom, knocked softly, and then went in.

"Rox, it's just me. I have to pee." Raven told the shower. She went back out into the hallway and to the third woman's room. "Rose! Rosie! Roooossse! Rosalyn Azure Callaway get your ass out of bed!" Raven got onto the bed and started jumping around. Rosalyn opened her eyes and saw Raven jumping on her bed.

"Ahhh!" she hollered, "Rae, what the hell?!"

"Time to rise and shine, bitch."

"That's not very nice."

"Nope." Raven replied, "Just get up. It's after 5:30."

"Alright, alright, crazy lady. I'm up, jeez!"

"Good." Raven told her. "I need to get dressed and then wake up Paolo." She turned and started walking out of the room, then turned back around to face Rosalyn. "By the way, I had the weirdest dream about your mother and sister last night…"

"Okay, well get out! I need to change!"

"Okay, Okay! I'm going." Raven turned and walked out of the room and into her own, where she changed into her clothes. She brushed out her black hair, which fell in loose curls just below her shoulders, went into the bathroom that Roxy had vacated, and did her morning routine. Then she walked to the last bedroom they had in the San Francisco apartment that they had moved into. She opened the door, and an eight-year-old black haired boy lay on the bed. She walked over and rubbed his back while calling his name softly.

"Paolo. Paolo, it's time to get up, sweetie. Come on, baby get up." The small boy opened his eyes, which were a dark blue to match hers, and sat up in bed. "Morning. It's time to get dressed for school, okay?" The boy nodded his head. "Good. Just come to the kitchen when you're dressed." She walked out of the room and to the kitchen where she started making pancakes. Rosalyn walked in, changed into her day clothes, but with her waist-length wavy light-brown hair a mess and half covering her blue-gray eyes. This look was typical of the 18-year-old in the morning. As she walked to the counter she stubbed her toe on a toy truck of Paolo's.

"Ugg!" she said loudly.

"Ugg?" Raven asked.

"Yes. Ugg is the new 'Shit!' Just like Green is the new Pink."

"Oh. So that's why you've been wearing a lot of green lately. I just thought you were celebrating the Leprechauns."

"Very funny." Rosalyn sat down, and then just started to crack up.

"What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about when we were kids, and how you were the most irresponsible- now you're Mrs. Mom."

"Not Mrs." Raven said, thinking of her most recent failed relationship with a man named David Kent. She had wasted two years with him, until she dumped him two weeks ago when she found out that he had cheated.

"Details!" exclaimed Rosalyn dramatically.

"Yes, well details are important."

"There you go again!"

"No. That is not a mother talking – that is a woman enrolled in Art History."

"Good morning", said the 5'6" 19-year-old woman who was walking into the room. Standing an inch taller than Raven and half an inch taller than Rose, Roxy walked into the room all 'put together'. Not a strand of her "Black-Cherry" red hair (which fell just about elbow-length) was out of place, and her side-swept bangs fell nicely over her gray eyes.

"Good morning", both women returned her greeting.

"Pancakes?" Raven offered Roxy the plate.

"No, thank you. I have to get going. I won't be in until later – my brothers wanted me to stop by for goddess-knows-what." Roxy left, and Raven turned to Rosalyn.

"I've got a psychology class today, and then I work until 6 waitressing. Can you pick up Paolo for me, please?"

"Sure. Do you mind if I just drop him off at Mom's and let Cynthia watch him?"

"No, go ahead."

"Good, because I work in the office until 2, and then I have two meetings with authors and only half an hour in between – when I can pick him up."

"That's rough", Raven said after Rose described a busier-than-usual day as an editor working for a national publishing company.

"Yeah. Thanks for the pancakes. I'd better finish getting ready."

"No problem." Raven turned her head from Rose to look in the other direction. "Paolo?" she called. He walked out of his room, dressed and ready. "C'mere, kiddo. Pancakes for breakfast today…I made them." She put some on a plate for him, and then some on a second plate for herself. The phone rang, and Raven picked it up.

"Hi, is Roxy Landon there?" a male voice came out of the receiver.

"No. This is Raven Ryann, can I ask who is calling?"

"Just tell her that her boyfriend, Vince, called. Bye." The man hung up.

"Jerk." Raven talked to the dead phone. She put it down, and then ate her pancakes. When they were done Raven cleared the dishes into the dishwasher. "Okay, then – time for school. Grab your bag." The boy grabbed his bag and then took Raven's hand. She shimmered them to Magic School.

"Hey Paige!" Raven greeted the red-head at the door. "Door duty?"

"Yup." Paige bent down to be on the same level as her little student. "Hey Paolo. How are you today?"

"Good," he answered.

"Are you ready for school again after those weeks off?"

"Yeah."

"Great!" Paige put her hand out for a high-five, which the boy gave. "You know where to go."

"Alright, I'm going to leave. I have to go to school."

"Bye mommy", Paolo said to Raven.

"Bye." Raven shimmered back into the apartment, where she grabbed her bag that held her laptop, school books, and waitressing uniform. Then she went out to her black jeep and drove to college.

At 6 o'clock Raven checked out of the restaurant, got in the car, and drove to the apartment. She changed back into her regular clothes and shimmered to a country house. The mailbox said "The Callaway's". It was the house where Rosalyn's mother and sixteen-year-old sister, Cynthia Elizabeth, lived. Raven called Mrs. Callaway Mom, because she had lived with her for two years until Rose and she moved into an apartment in New York City with Roxy. As Raven stood on the porch she thought of her own mother and father who were killed by a demon three years ago, leaving her to raise a five year old all by herself at 16. Her brother, who was just inside, had mostly forgotten about their parents and so took to calling Raven "Mommy". Luckily, Mrs. Callaway let them move in. Mrs. Callaway helped as best she could, but Raven still had to go to school and work to buy what Paolo needed. Consequently, Raven had only three boyfriends, which she kept away from Paolo so he wouldn't have anymore changes in his life.

Raven was startled out of her thoughts by the door swinging open.

"Mom," Raven said as she walked forward to embrace the brunette that stood in the doorway.

"Hey stranger. I was surprised when Rosie said you'd be picking up the boy – you haven't been around much lately."

"I know – between school and work and taking care of Paolo I haven't been much of anywhere. I just picked up World Religions in addition to Psychology and Art History."

"Or could it be that you don't want to be anywhere after David Kent?" asked the all-knowing mother-figure. "I know you, and you're a social person but when you start throwing yourself into you're work I know you're upset."

"I guess I might be a little upset. But who wouldn't be when someone cheated on them?"

"Well, if you ever want to talk…"

"Thanks Mom."

"Well Paolo is in the back with Cynthia."

"Okay, I'll just go get him." Raven walked into the house and to the back where Paolo was practicing his levitation with Cynthia.

"Hey Cynthia. Want to come over for dinner tonight?" Raven asked the girl, who could be Rosalyn's twin except for the fact she was 16 and her hair was shorter and curly.

"Sure. We were practicing."

"I see." Raven picked Paolo up. "Having fun?" she asked him.

"Yes," he answered.

"Well it's time to go, but Aunt C. will be at dinner and maybe we will see Grams next week, okay?"

The boy thought about it, and then said, "O.K. Bye Aunt C. Bye-bye Grams."

"Bye Paolo." Mrs. Callaway replied, and then Raven shimmered Paolo and herself back to the apartment.

Their roommates were already home.

"Hey Roxy, how were the twins?" Rose asked, referring to Roxy's 21-year-old twin brothers Tristan and Kyle.

"Fine; dumb and crazy-like always."

"That sounds like the twins." Raven butted in.

"Hey Paolo, did you have fun with Cynthia?" Rose sat the boy on her lap.

"Yup. Practiced levitation. She is coming for dinner."

"Really? Cool!" Rosalyn set him down, stood up, and turned to Raven. "What's for dinner?"

"I don't know yet – I just got home. I need to go shopping tomorrow, so how about something easy, like Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup?"

"Yes!" Paolo hollered, because grilled cheese was his second favorite food – next to macaroni and cheese.

"Okay kiddo, how about you help Aunt Roxy set the table while Aunt Rose gets Cynthia and I start dinner", Raven suggested to Paolo, and they did. When dinner was ready Raven served it, and they all sat down for dinner. They chatted about what they did during the day and then Rose said she had something to tell them - a dream she had…

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Okay, the next chapter should be up tomorrow or the next day. Please review, and if you're confused about anything, just ask. Constructive criticism greatly appreciated.


	2. Rosalyn I: The First Visitor

Konnichiwa everyone! Here's the next chapter. Sorry I didn't get it up earlier, I was having a bit of trouble with it. A little constructive criticism would be very helpful! (hint, hint)

Charmedisthebestshoweverandeveryoneshouldknowit

As we sat down to dinner I suddenly remembered something. "Guys?" I said. The other two looked at me. "I had a dream last night. We were eating dinner and a man orbed in. A Whitelighter. Stupid Elders," I added, muttering. "What's the point of me having prophetic dreams if I can't remember what happens until just before it happens?"

Rae shrugged and asked, "Who was he?" I shook my head.

"I don't know, I didn't recognize him. He's probably our new Whitelighter, but I can't remember if he said anything." They nodded.

We were just finishing when he came. He blinked when he saw us eating and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were having dinner. Do you want me to come back later?"

"No, it's fine," I said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Andy, and your new Whitelighter," he said.

"Andy? Andy _Trudeau_?" Rae asked.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"That's interesting," Roxy said.

"I had no idea you were a Whitelighter," I said. "I bet the Charmed Ones didn't either."

"No, they didn't," he said. "I wasn't allowed to see them. But I died protecting them, and so the Elders made me a Whitelighter."

"You do realize we're the second most powerful witches in the world, don't you? You're going to be very busy."

"Don't brag, Rae," I said.

"I wasn't bragging!"

"Stop fighting, you two," Roxy said wearily. "We might as well be sisters the way you two argue."

"Yes, I know that," Andy replied to Rae's earlier question. "I've been briefed by the Elders."

_As if they know anything,_ I said to the other two telepathically. They fought to control their laughter.

"Well, sit down then. We're not done eating. Do you have a lot of other charges?" I questioned.

"No, I don't," Andy responded. "Just like Leo didn't."

_That makes me feel special,_ Rae said in our minds. We had talked through telepathy so much that even though it wasn't Rae or Roxy's power, they could use it to talk to each other.

"Then eat something. You're not likely to be called away."

The rest of dinner passed in relative silence. Once everyone was finished eating, I gathered up the dishes and began loading the dishwasher. _This is so annoying. Are you sure it's my turn? _I always complained about doing the dishes.

_Yes,_ Roxy replied. _Just be glad you don't have to wash them by hand. Whose turn is it to take out the trash?_

_Yours! _chorused Rae and I. Roxy sighed and went to do it. Rae smiled at Andy, who said, "I feel left out."

Rae and I laughed. "Sorry," Rae said. "It's habit. We'll try to keep our conversations out loud. Can't guarantee anything though." Andy smiled back. "So," Rae continued, trying to strike up a conversation, "how long have you been a Whitelighter?"

"About seven and a half years," Andy replied.

"Ever had charges that get attacked as much as we do?"

He laughed. "No, no one except Leo has. You guys get attacked as much as the Charmed Ones do!"

"You've noticed that too?" I said from the sink. "Why don't we have a better dishwasher?"

"With what money?" asked Roxy, walking in the door.

"That was a rhetorical question."

"Then why'd you say it out loud?" Rae asked.

"Because," I said, "you probably would have heard it anyway. All our emotions are screwed up."

"True," Roxy agreed. "We've all got some issues to work out."

"I have a feeling we're going to have more visitors," I said suddenly.

"Is that a hunch?"

"Yeah."

"Huh?" Andy asked, confused.

"Oh, sorry. Rose here has chronokinesis, so she sometimes gets hunches which turn out to be true."

"Not complete chronokinesis, Roxy. Complete chronokinesis would enable me to stop, fast forward, and rewind time. Like Tempus. I can only access it subconsciously, through dreams or hunches."

"Details, details," Roxy said airily. Everyone laughed. We were all having a good time…so of course something had to happen. And by 'something' I mean a demon.

The demon shimmered in before we were done laughing. No one noticed for a few moments-until he threw a fireball at us. Roxy quickly froze it with her cryokinesis and I reached out my hands and called on my third and last power, pyrokinesis. The demon's clothes (well, rags) caught on fire, but he didn't. "Hate it when that happens," I commented. "I'm going to go get Cynthia. Be right back!" Before anyone could respond I turned and shimmered out. I shimmered in to Cynthia's room and grabbed her arm. When we got back to the house, Rae was shooting the demon with a blast of water. Cynthia yanked her arm out of my hand and froze him (not with cryokinesis, but with temporal stasis).

"Rosalyn! Don't _do_ that! You scared the crap out of me! I thought you were a demon!" she yelled.

"Sorry," I grinned. "Thanks for helping out. Book, everyone! Except you, Cynthia. You stay here in case he unfreezes." I ran to the Book of Shadows, which unlike the Charmed Ones' was not in the attic, but in what was meant to be the dining room. We brewed our potions and kept the Book of Shadows there, and called it the Book room. "Guys?" I called. I had reached the room a few seconds ahead of them.

Roxy, Rae, and Andy (in that order) came into the room. "Yeah?" Roxy asked.

"Just wondering what was taking so long. Let's see what kind of demon that was." I opened the Book. A few moments later we all heard a crash. _Cynthia?_

_I'm okay. He threw me a fireball but I froze him again._

_Okay. Did it get you? _When she didn't answer I knew it had. "Andy? Could you go check on Cynthia? We can take care of this."

"Yeah, sure." He went back to the kitchen. I turned the Book so all three of us could see it.

"Is this him?" I asked them. Rae shook her head.

"No, his skin was green, not blue." She turned some more pages. "What about this?"

"I don't think so. He threw fireballs." After a few more minutes of this we finally found the demon. "Thryk. An upper-level demon whose MO is fireballs," I said. "Here's a vanquishing potion. Rae, you start on the potion. Roxy, you come with me. We have to get some flesh. Ew." I grabbed an athame off the bedside table on my way out.

When we got back to the kitchen we saw Cynthia and Andy sitting in the chairs we had just recently vacated. Cynthia was holding her head in her hands while Andy was keeping a sharp watch on the demon. It unfroze and conjured a fireball as I watched. "Cynthia!" Andy said. Without looking u p she threw out her hand and the demon refroze.

"Nice," I said. This time she did look up, and smiled at me.

"Thanks."

"Who wants to cut off some demon flesh?" I asked, brandishing my athame. "Cynthia?" She shook her head. "Roxy? Please?" She shook her head too, grinning. "Oh fine," I huffed. I walked over to Thryk and grabbed his hand. Closing my eyes, I sliced off part of his palm. I picked it up and gagged. Roxy quickly held out a plastic baggie and I dropped the flesh into it. As she went back to the Book room, I grabbed a pair of tongs. No sense in getting blown on our asses as soon as we add the flesh. "You keep him frozen," I said to Cynthia on my way out. She nodded.

When I got back to the others Raven was almost done with the potion. Roxy looked up from the Book when I walked in and said, "All we need is the flesh."

"Goodie," I said. I stepped closer to the cauldron and they stepped back until we were all about a foot away. I used the tongs to get the flesh out of the baggie and threw it in. The potion exploded. "Done," I said. "Let's go relieve Cynthia from freezing duty." We traipsed back to the kitchen, _again_. "Let's just lure him into the Book room next time. This is ridiculous."

"Stop whining," Cynthia said from her seat. "Ready?" We nodded and she motioned at the demon. He unfroze and got ready to make another fireball, but Roxy threw the potion. "Viola! Demon is vanquished. Now take me home."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, and saluted her before shimmering her home. When we got there I called silently, _Mom?_

_Yeah? _the answer came back.

_We had to borrow Cynthia for a while. She's back in her room now._

_Okay. Tell her to make sure her homework's done._

_Will do! _"Mom says you better do all your homework, Cynthy."

"I was going to anyway. Now shoo!" I shooed. _I've got to do my homework too… _I thought. _I should ask Rae for help with that World Religions essay, then I have to do that research for Literature…at least I don't have any Astronomy homework._ "Rae?" I called.

"Still in the kitchen!"

"Feel like writing an essay?" I asked.

"Never," she groaned. "Let's just get it over with. Lucky Roxy, she already went to bed."

"Lucky? That just means she has no social life."

"Neither do you. Besides, who needs a social life when you live with your best friends?"

"You mean, who has time for a social life when you're constantly fighting demons?"

"That too."

Two hours of writing combined with much good-natured banter later, we had both finished our essay.

I rubbed my eyes. "I don't know how much longer I can do this. I might have to start taking online courses. College plus job plus witch duties equals one very tired woman."

"I know what you mean. But I don't know, it's nice to get out of the house every once in a while. Good night!"

"Night," I said distractedly. _Who's going to be visiting, I wonder? _I shrugged and walked into my room.

Charmedisthebestshoweverandthesethingsarereallyfun

There you go. Okay. Um…I'm a bit shaky on Andy's character (okay, a lot). _But _I do have a reason for him being OOC. It comes up in a later chapter.


	3. Raven I: Paolo and Brooks

**Raven I – Paolo and Brooks**

_A/N: Hello all! Welcome to the next installment of Resurrection. Sorry for the wait but… have you ever tried writing a story with another person? 'Tis difficult. And the story must go on!_

It was Wednesday, February 5th, one week and three days since Andy had arrived. As I sat at my desk I heard, _What did you put for number 16?_

_I'm not telling_, I answered.

_Come on, we used to cheat in Social Studies._

_That was in eighth grade! This is college World Religions._

_Well we work together on-_

_Okay! Shut up already! It's – Oh. My. God!_ Rosalyn and I had been telepathically communicating about the test we were taking in our World Religions class we attended together, when I saw Paolo's astral self peek around the door of the bathroom off the classroom.

_RoseI'llBeRightBackIJustSawPaoloInTheBathroom_. I slipped into the bathroom just in time to see Paige orb in. "Oh my Goddess! What is going on?" I asked in a forceful whisper.

"Why don't you ask Paolo?" Paige replied. We both looked at him expectantly.

"Ummm…I had a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"I only want to tell Mommy." He said softly, looking at the ground. Then he whispered in my ear. Paige looked questioningly at me and I mouthed "Puberty."

"Okay Paolo, why don't you go back to school, and I'll come back in a minute." Paige told Paolo who left to go back to his body in the school. Paige turned to me, "I am so sorry that it took me so long to get here. It's always harder to tell with astral projection."

"That's okay." I answered. I knew what she meant, it was hard to tell if he was just sitting quietly, or if he had astral projected somewhere. Luckily, he would usually only go to Mom and Cynthia's.

"Hey, if you want I can have Henry talk to him. Little Henry just hit puberty himself."

"Thanks." I knew Paige was only trying to help, but it still hurt because it reminded me that I couldn't provide Paolo with everything. I had tried so hard to be a good mother, but I could never replace a father. We had no blood relatives he could turn to, and our adopted family was all women. I never had a good enough relationship. I had tried and failed to find a good father figure for him but it hadn't worked.

"Alright. Think about it. I'd better get back." Paige broke the silence.

"Yeah. Okay, bye." I walked out of the bathroom, and didn't even talk to Rose. When class had finished, I just got into the car and drove. Rose must have just shimmered home. It was driving to nowhere that I realized that I couldn't live lifeless for ever. I decided that I needed to talked to my friends again, get out more, and get over David Kent.

I called up my old friend Bryan Brooklyn Ryland, with whom I had been friends with since we were both 13. We had stayed in touch, but never actually met face to face since 10th grade, because he had moved to San Antonio. He told me that he was actually in San Francisco until the 2nd, and I asked him if he'd like to meet for lunch at a little diner on my street called Order Out (I don't know why they call it that, because they don't even have take out service). He said he'd love to, but he already had made reservations-for-two at an upscale restaurant for dinner. He hadn't told me he was coming, because he wanted to surprise me and take me out to dinner. I was very surprised, but happy.

"Hey Pals," He told me, calling me by his pet name for me, "How could I leave my favorite-girl-in-the-world alone on Valentine's Day? I'm so sorry that I missed your others."

"That's okay, Brooks," I replied, smiling because I knew I was the only one allowed to call him that (Everyone else had to call him Bryan). "It wasn't your fault."

"I still feel bad because I should've come for last year and the year before at least."

"Look – Brooks, its okay. Get over it. Your Grandfather died, and last year you broke your leg. It's not your fault, and I don't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself. Plus, I'm sure we'll have enough fun to make up for it." Brooks and I finished our conversation, and said goodbye. Neither of us had been real daters in high school and we had almost gone out, but we had decided to stay friends because we were afraid we'd screw up.

The next day I went on a photo shoot for House Magazine, and didn't work at the restaurant. My photo shoot ended at 3, so I went to pick Paolo up from school. "Hey Raven, wait!" I heard. I turned and there was Paige.

"Piper wants to know if you all want to come over for dinner on Friday. We're going, too. And Phoebe's side."

"Well…I'll ask." I told her, thinking how we expanded our family and how I wanted to spend as much time with Brooks as possible.

"Good, just let us know."

"I will. Bye." I shimmered Paolo and I home, and took a shower. I dressed up, in one of my favorite dresses, and told Paolo he could watch a movie. I don't know why, but the kid gets so excited over 90210. He ran off to watch it. When Rose came home, I told her I was going out, and she asked with who, and where.

"Bryan."

"Bryan?" she thought. "Oh My God, you mean Bryan Ryland?!"

"Yes. He's in town for the week."

"You're pretty dressy for an old friend." Rose commented, looking over my outfit.

"Yeah, well, he's taking me to Davinci's. I'm really glad none of the girls are working tonight. I'd hate for him to know I waitress there."

"Well where did you tell him you work?" She asked, unbelieving.

"The magazine."

"I can't believe you kept that from an old friend."

"I don't want him to know how bad I'm really doing. He's successful, well off, put together." I told her. "I don't want him to know that I'm a failure. I feel so incompetent compared with him."

"I doubt it'd bother him. You have been friends for years, and stayed in touch even though he moved away."

"Maybe, maybe not."

I arrived at the restaurant and gave the hostess his name. "Excuse me, I'm supposed to meet Bryan Ryland."

"This way, please." I followed. I was glad that I didn't see any familiar faces among the staff. If I decided he could know, I wanted to tell him myself.

She led me to a table where a handsome black-haired man with blue-green eyes sat. He stood, and walked over to me. "It's so good to finally see you again." He told me as we embraced.

"You too." He pulled out my chair for me to sit, and I sat. Then he went to pull his chair closer to mine.

"So…how's my little boy?" He asked of Paolo. I answered, and we talked through other things that have happened, and how life has changed.

Then I said, "Brooks, you know how I work at the magazine, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well that's not the only place. In between the magazine, school, and caring for Paolo I work as a waitress…here." I waited a moment then continued. "Since we moved here from New York," I said referring to New York City, "The apartment rent is more, Paolo needs new things, and so do I, Roxy and Rose already help me out, so I picked up the extra job so that I can put in more of our share."

"I'm sorry. Do you not want to eat here? We could go someplace else."

"No. That's okay," I told him, "I just wanted to let you know." We sat quiet for a minute or two before he spoke again.

"You really amaze me." He said, looking into my eyes. "You have been dealt so many problems, and you just take care of them. You are left an orphan at 16, and have to take care of a five year old. You have no time to grow up, you just had to be grown up right away. And now you have an 8-yr.-old, two jobs, college, Roxy and Rose, and Charmed duties. There is no way any average person could do that. You're very special."

"That's really sweet of you, Brooks, but I'm just doing what I have to do." I really did feel special when he told me that. I leaned forward to kiss his cheek, but ended up kissing his lips. It was short, because we were both surprised, but sweet. At the end of dinner I said, "I really had a great time, thank you."

"Do you want to go out again?"

"I do."

"How about Saturday?"

"That sounds great. Oh yeah, would you like to come to dinner tomorrow? It's not at my place. We're going to the Halliwell's."

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Great." We got up and hugged again. He kissed me this time, and I kissed back. It was a much better kiss than before.

At the Halliwell's the next day, It was Piper, Leo, Wyatt, Chris, Phoebe, Coop, Paige, and Henry, along with Rose, Roxy, Paolo, Brooks, and I. Phoebe and Piper were pregnant. I introduced the Bryan to the Halliwells, and explained that he was an old friend of mine from way back, and that our secret was safe with him. Everyone had a great dinner, and then I shimmered Bryan back to his hotel room. We kissed a little before I shimmered home.

On Saturday, at 7pm, Bryan pulled up in front of the apartment in a blue convertible, wearing a suit. "Dinner's not 'til eight. I thought we'd go for a drive." He asked, "Would you like to?" I answered yes. I was very glad that I had decided to wear my sparkly red dress.

Before I could get to the car, Andy was heard saying, "Rae, you need to get back here!"

"I'm leaving, Andy." I got in the car and Bryan drove away.

"Who's he?" He asked as we drove.

"Oh-um…" I tried to find a way to explain. "He is our new roommate. He sleeps on the couch. He is a whitelighter. Do you remember what they are?" He nodded. "Well he was the eldest Charmed One's highschool sweetheart, and they went out again after college. He died two years before she did. Now he is assigned to watch us, but he can't see the Halliwells. Not yet, anyway." Bryan listened while we drove around the city, then we went to eat.

After the meal we went to his hotel room. We sat on the bed and watched a movie and talked, hung out, just had a great time. I fell asleep, and awoke to Bryan sitting next to me, calling my name.

"Brooks!" I said sleepily.

"Rae, get up. It's time to watch the sunrise."

"Idunwannagetup." I mumbled.

"Fine." He stood up and picked me up in his arms. He carried me down the stairs and slid me into the car. We drove to the park, and I got out and walked with him to a park bench.

"I'm cold." I told him, and he put his arm around me and let me get closer. I laid my head on his chest. After the sunrise he drove me back to the apartment. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me at the door. I was caught off guard, but I kissed back. We stood kissing for a while, and then we stopped and he got in his car and I snuck into the apartment.

On my way to my room, I tripped into the couch and fell onto Andy who was sleeping there. He opened his eyes to see me, my face inches from his. "Sorry." I whispered. He helped me stand up, and looked at my clothes. "Please don't wake up my sisters."

"Don't worry. I won't. Do you need a light?" I nodded, and Andy made an orb appear in his hand and walked with me quietly down the hallway. I thanked him when we got to my door. "Nite" was his reply.


	4. Rosalyn II: The Dinner Attack

_I'm am so sorry it took so long to get this chapter! And I'm still convinced that it sucks, but something's better than nothing, right? It's not like there are many people reading this anyway. No offense. But anyway, here it is._

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"Come on, people, let's go!" I shouted. "We're supposed to be at the Manor in five minutes!"

"Oh, calm down," Roxy said as she walked out of her room. "We can be there in five seconds."

I sighed. "Well, Rae still has to go get Bryan, and you know she's going to take forever because she has to stop to-"

"Don't finish that sentence." Rae's voice came from behind me.

"Okay. Just don't take forever, okay? And don't forget about Paolo!" I called when she started to shimmer.

"Oops," she said and ran to Paolo's room. "Bye!" she shouted from there. I sighed. "Come on, Roxy, let's go. Maybe we can be on time for once." She shimmered and I glistened.

We soon reappeared in the dining room of the Manor. Only the kids and Henry so much as blinked an eye at our sudden arrival, and that's all that they did. I love hanging out with this family. They know everything that we're going through.

"Good, you're here," Piper said. "Everyone sit down. We'll start as soon as Raven, Paolo, and Bryan – never mind."

I turned at her words and saw that they had just arrived. Rae sat Bryan next to Roxy and sat next to him. I took my place on the other side of her, next to Piper.

Dinner was absolutely delicious, as usual with Piper's cooking…or at leas the part of it that I got to enjoy was. Not even half an hour after we started eating Cynthia called. _Rose?_

I jumped and responded, _Yeah, what's up, Cynthy?_

_Get over here, now. _I didn't need any more prompting. Cynthia sounded terrified. My normally composed, _annoyingly_ composed, sister was terrified. I muttered an excuse, I don't remember exactly what I said, then glistened to Mom's house.

As soon as I got there I saw why Cynthia had been scared. There must have been at least two dozen demons! I say "at least" because it's not like I stopped to count. In fact, as soon as I glistened in I had to duck a fireball. Most of the rest is all kind of a blur. When I came to my senses the room was about half cleared. I was looking to see how Cynthia was doing when one of the demons stabbed her.

"No!" I cried, then started to call for Andy, but Mom stopped me with a mental cry. _Wait, don't! Look towards the far corner._ I obeyed and saw two darklighters. I cursed and called, _Rae! Roxy! Get over here!_ They shimmered in a few moments later and I immediately headed for the darklighters. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Raven head over to Mom, who was backed into a corner. There were demons all around, so I couldn't do anything too bad to them, but I did get my back to the wall and waited for one of them to fire an arrow, then tapped into Rae's psychokinesis using my telepathy and redirected it back at him, then used my pyrokinesis on the other.

"Andy!" Roxy called and pointed toward Cynthia as son as he orbed in, lying on the floor with Rae and Mom standing over her to keep someone from finishing the job. Andy immediately orbed her out and I got back to vanquishing demons.

I was getting exhausted from constantly using my pyrokinesis. "It'd be nice if I had an athame!" I cried. Almost immediately one thudded into the wall above my head. I grinned at Cynthia, who had thrown it seconds after Andy had orbed her back in, fully healed. He was nowhere to be seen. Ah well, he wouldn't be much help in a fight anyway. I grabbed the athame out of the wall and stabbed a demon in front of me as I watched Cynthia kill one sneaking up behind her. That girl is good with a knife!

It took a little over fifteen minutes to fully clear the room of demons and I immediately slumped to the floor. Usually demon fighting gave me such an adrenaline rush that I was hyper for a while afterward, but I felt a little lightheaded…I vaguely heard Rae call for Andy before I blacked out.

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I wasn't hurt too bad, just a little blood loss. Once Andy had finished healing everyone (we had all acquired a few wounds, mostly small ones) and we said our good-byes, he orbed back home and Rae and Roxy shimmered me – I was still a little weak – back to the Halliwells'. They had finished dinner and were eating dessert. Piper gave us ice cream instead of the pie they were eating. Thank God, because I know I for one was sweating like crazy. Ew.

We didn't stay long. It only took a few minutes before we decided to go home and take a shower, you know, get the demon blood off of us. Bryan decided to come with us and so Rae shimmered him while Roxy took Paolo and I.

Once there, of course, we had a brief fight over who would get the shower first. Rae won and so everyone else sat down in the living room (Roxy and I sat on the floor because we were still gross). "If this is going to keep up we _definitely_ need a house."

"Stop nagging," Roxy muttered, lying down and putting an arm over her face. "I have a headache."

"You have a headache? _You_ have a headache? I'll have you know-"

"Yeah, yeah," Roxy said. "I've heard it all before. You have a headache all the time or whatever. Blah, blah, blah."

I heard Bryan smother a laugh and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing myself. Paolo, of course, just laughed out loud and didn't stop until he saw me glaring at him. Finally I heard the two words I had been waiting for.

"Shower's free," Rae called. I glistened to the bathroom before Roxy could even move.

"Cheater!" I heard her call and opened the bathroom door.

I yelled back, "All's fair in love and war!"

"So which one is this?"

"War!" I said at the same time Rae called from her room, "Love!"

"Shut up Rae!" And I closed the door again.

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"What the hell?!" I cried. Roxy's response was, "I think you just answered your own question." A demon had just shimmered in.

Before we had fully registered the fact and had time to react (it was late that night and we were exhausted) he threw a fireball at us. We watched, dazed, as the fireball was redirected at him. I heard an amused voice say, "We have to stop meeting like this." We turned around and saw…

"Chris?" Roxy asked, shocked.

"In the flesh." Piper and Leo's future son grinned. "You girls look a lot older. How long has it been?"

"Since what? Since we saw you last or since you…died?"

"Well, the second one," he replied. "Although I didn't really die. I'll explain later." He looked expectantly at us until Roxy finally answered reluctantly.

"Almost three years."

Chris Halliwell sat heavily on the (thankfully nearby) couch. "Three years? What's the date?"

"May 15, 2007," Rae said, gave him a few minutes to recover, then asked, "What do you mean, you weren't really dead?"

"Well," he began, still looking slightly shocked. He seemed to recover, though, as he told his story. "Before I died, I faded away. The timeline had been changed already, even before Dad killed Gideon. But there's a twenty-four-hour window in which it can be fixed. The Elders weren't going to do that, but they did manage to save me. Somehow. They brought me Up There and healed me, then left me alone while they decided what to do with me. I came very close to being recycled, but finally they decided to send me back to Earth, under a new name. And I'm not allowed to see my family."

Silence followed his speech until I said, "So what's your name now?"

"Oh, right. It's not really new, but technically there's a Chris Halliwell already, so I'm Chris Perry."

"Right," I said, nodding. It made sense.

"Um…like I said, I'm not allowed to see my family, and you girls are the only witches I know in this timeline, so…could I stay here for a while?"

"Of course," Roxy said almost immediately.

_Roxy!_

_What? He needs a place to stay, we can't just turn him away._ And with that, she started talking to Chris again.

_Fine! _I said. _Rae, where is he going to sleep? We've already got Andy on the couch! _We thought for a while until I finally said telepathically, _I suppose he can have my room and I'll bunk with…Roxy. You kick, and besides, we never know what you're doing in that bed, _I added with a smirk.

"Rose!" Rae was so angry she said it out loud, but I just laughed. Meanwhile Roxy was telling a confused Chris that we were talking telepathically and that he'll have to get used to it.

"All right, well that's settled." I stood up. "Rae, will you help me pack up some stuff?"

She nodded, still a little mad. It was just a joke. Jeez, that woman…Anyway, we walked to my room. I looked around and sighed heavily. It was a mess.

"Great, this is going to take a while. Rae, will you start getting stuff together that I'm going to need while I go get some boxes from Mom's attic?"

"Sure," she said, and I glistened out. It took me a few minutes to find the boxes, then I glistened back to the apartment. By the looks of things, Rae hadn't done anything. I opened my mouth to say something to her, but then saw what she was doing. She was sitting on my bed, reading something in a notebook.

She looked up when I took a step forward. "Rose, what the hell is this?" she asked, holding up the notebook.

"Uh, a notebook."

"_Rose_,"she said dangerously.

"Fine, fine. They're notes."

"To who, exactly?"

"Oh, please," I replied. "Like you haven't figured it out by now."

Just then Roxy walked in. She took a look at the scene in my room and said, "Rae, what have you done now?"

"Me!" Rae said, indignant. "Rose is the one writing to Cole!"

Roxy gasped. "Cole? As in Cole _Turner_?"

"How many other Coles do we know?" I asked.

"And you want to know what the worst part is?" Rae asked. I don't think she'd been listening to Roxy and I. "_He's been writing back!_"

I sighed again. "Yeah, he has. Don't worry," I added, hearing their anxious thoughts, "He hasn't come back to life or anything." Quickly, before they could say anything else, I explained. I had had a prophetic dream about him, which I knew would only happen if he was in the room, because his psychic remnants would have to be really strong. So I wrote him a note and he answered. After years in Limbo he had figured out how to move things in the real world. After that, we became pen pals, of a sort.

Neither said anything after I told my story, I think they were too shocked. Finally Rae said simply, "Oh." I laughed, and after a while she smiled. "So why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know," I said. "Have you told me about everyone that you talk to?"

"Well, no," she admitted. "But this is different!"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry?"

"Hmph," was he only reply, but I knew she had forgiven me. "Roxy?"

She waved a hand through the air. "Whatever. I'm over it." And she smiled and left the room. Rae continued to sit on my bed, rifling through the notebook. I didn't say anything against it. I didn't really care if she read the notes or not. She raised her eyebrows every once in a while and sometimes looked as if she were going to say something, but she kept her mouth shut. Meanwhile I started to do what we had actually come in there for, and began to pack. Most of the things on my floor I just shoved in boxes that I would take to Mom's later. I didn't feel like actually cleaning.

By the time I was done, only one box had been filled that was coming with me to Roxy's room. I left a lot of things in my room, including my clothes. I figured that'd be easier than trying to find room in Roxy's closet and dresser. Chris probably wouldn't mind anyway, as long as I didn't come barging in.

"Well, I'm done. Thanks for all your help, Rae," I added sarcastically.

"No problem," she replied. She turned a few more pages until she came to the last page that had writing on it. "Rose, why did you write 'See you soon'?"

"It's an expression," I said as I grabbed two boxes.

"Hm." I could tell she wasn't convinced, but what else would it mean? That he was going to come back to life? Yeah right. But then again, we did already have two dead men living in our house. I gave a breathless laugh as I thought that and glistened out.

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_So there it is. A new chapter. Raven's next one should be up very soon, it's already written. Although, I'm going to try and get her to rewrite some of it. She was apparently in a weird mood when she wrote it, and it's…interesting. 'Baking' is _not _a swear word, Rae!_

_Rosalyn_


	5. Raven II: Sex, Kissing, and Tears

Hi peoples! This is the next chapter. Just want to let you know this was written right after Raven I, it's Rosalyn that was holding it all up. (_Liar! Okay, I did have writer's block, but you took about a month to type this thing!) _Ah well, what I pay for friendship, no sleep, and eternal weirdness...a horrible price: a woman with writer's block! (In all fairness to the woman presently unreachable, it did take me forever to type.) Any way, onto the chapter.

Disclaimer: Oh please, you don't know how awful Charmed would be if I owned it!

The ring tone is a song from "Music and Lyrics".

It has been weeks since the last time she saw Bryan. She got into an argument with Roxy and Rose over Bryan staying at the house. He is on a business trip and she can't shimmer to him.

Patty,

This sucks! It's been days since I last talked to B and _weeks_ since I've actually seen him. I feel like crap. Like withdrawal. It's depressing. I'm depressing. Floosh! He's like a total drug. Why should I go to a therapist to 'talk about my problems'? That's what Roxy said. Ha! She has problems of her own with that crazy boyfriend of hers! I swear if she comes home with bruises one more time! Any way that's what cellmates are for. There are now six; yes I said six, crac-apples living in one peanut apartment! Psychos! So we have a whitelighter-fine. Don't they have clouds to sleep on? So great, sleep on my couch. But then CHRIS! Ahhh! Why us? Cole- would've been a yes, but Chris? No! Rosalyn and Roxy were upset that I had Bryan in my room, but when Chris asked to stay Roxy agreed immediately. Now Rose sleeps with Roxy. She said she'd rather sleep with me, but with Bryan in my room all the time...I don't see what their problem is-I'm an adult, I pay rent. As long as Paolo doesn't know it won't hurt him.

I don't know what to do. This is making me crazier than I already am! I have my Indian music playing, but Japanese is blasting under my door, the keyboard is being played, Roxy is practicing her bagpipes, one of the men is singing. It's not just our apartment, either; Mrs. Downstairs has been playing Elvis, Johnny Cash, and The Supremes in a loop. Mr. Next-door can't keep his trumpet quiet, and Miss Upstairs has been blasting Pussy Cat Dolls in between playing her flute! Cheesecakes kill; kill me now. I think I'm going to go out for a jog. I can't wait to spend some time together; I hope I can make it Saturday.

Love ya Patty Brown!

Rae.

I hit send, and then got up from my computer. I began to change into my jogging clothes. I had just taken off my shirt and thrown it over my shoulder when I heard: "Rae, we have another de-" The sentence was cut-off and muffled. I spun around, wearing only my skimpy purple bra on top, to see Andy standing there holding the shirt he had just pulled off his face.

"Oh Purple Frog." I said in a mostly calm voice, just slightly shocked. He stared at my face, knowing he shouldn't look down, and he was stuttering.

"Umm-uh…er-ah…" He glanced down. "Whoa."

"Really? Ugg!" I slapped myself in the forehead. "Okay, " I said when I had regained my composure-still topless. "Eyes up here." I told him, indicating my face. Just then I heard the knob of the door turning and:

"Mom?" I ran to hide behind Andy, who straightened out to block my whole body from view. I was in a very bad, sorry state – hiding from a child. If he saw me-who knows? First he would have seen Caesar and Tutu, and secondly it would have looked like we-Andy and I…which we weren't. Paolo walked in saying, "Mom, can you explain sex to me?" He saw Andy "Oh, sorry."

"Hey sweetie! Andy and I were just discussing the next demon." I spoke over Andy's shoulder. "Umm sex- why do you want to know?"

"No reason really, just heard it."

"Do you really need to know?" I asked. I didn't really want to discuss this, especially not hiding behind Andy.

"I guess not. I'll ask Dylan tomorrow." He started to turn.

"No wait!" I figured we'd have to talk about it sometime, and I certainly wouldn't hand him a book like our mother had for me. Plus it'd probably be better if he heard it from me. With my luck Dylan would be a thought projector and project what he remembered from a movie right into the classroom. "Okay, well…see…when two people love each other-"

"Whoa, whoa. That's not how we do it." Andy said. I was shocked, but then started cracking up. Andy turned pink and said, "I can't believe I just said that!"

Paolo walked out. I guess he knew I wasn't going to stop for a while. Hmmm…maybe I should try a book. Meanwhile I was still cracking up, and lost balance. I grabbed Andy around the waist to try to stay up, but it only pulled him on top of me as we fell onto the bed. By then, he was laughing also.

Through my hysteria I heard the door open once again, this time announcing Roxy's presence.

"OHMYGOD!" she shouted and covered her eyes as she ran from the room. Andy, who was lying next to me, and I looked at each other and started laughing all over again. I almost fell off the bed, but he grabbed me and I ended up with my head on his chest, still shaking with uncontrollable laughter.

Rose shimmered in and had her eyes "covered". "Sorry. I'm not looking, I just need a brush." I rolled my eyes to show Andy that she had nothing but spying on her mind. Suddenly she ripped her hand off of her eyes, right when Andy and I had managed an almost calm, and screams: "Raven! When did you get a belly ring?! You never told us!" Three sets of eyes stared at my belly, as even Roxy walked in from her post eaves-dropping at the door. I had in a sexy, dangly sort of belly ring.

After an uncomfortable silence, Andy said: "I like it. It's pretty."

"Thanks. I got it right before we left The City." I told him, referring to Manhattan. He tried to touch it, and I told him not to, or I'd touch him back. I ran my fingers on his stomach. He was ticklish. He tried to tickle me back, but I'm not ticklish. When he ran his hands along my skin, though, it gave me shivers.

He flipped over, on top of me, and at every touch my heart flip-flopped. I realized how dangerous of a situation this was and began to sit up, but his lips touched mine and I needed to kiss back. He put his hands around my waist and lowered me back onto the bed as we deepened the kiss.

Finally we stopped. I removed myself from his arms and made a run for the bathroom. Roxy and Rose must have left the room shortly after I started tickling him, because they were nowhere to be seen.

When I got to the bathroom, I sat don on the floor and cried. I cried because I felt like I could become attached and lose everything all over again. I cried because no matter what I couldn't convince myself that Andy was permanent. I cried because of how unfair I'd acted toward Andy. I should have never led him on.

_(That's right you shouldn't have! Sorry. Just kidding. Anyway, have you ever thought that that is kind of out of character…for both of you, actually. Anyway, to the readers, Rosalyn…what is it, III?... should be up very soon. A week or two. Just have to tweak it a little. Bye!)_


	6. RavenIII: Mystery Madeline

**Okay, so I know that we're starting again, and our story may head in a different direction then we'd intended, but stories grow with their authors, I believe. **

**It's been a while, but I hope we can get back on track.**

**CharmedCharmedCharmedXOXOXOCharmedCharmedCharmedXOXOXO**

In my car, blasting music as I drove along, I picked up my cell again. "Honey, I'm almost there, are you okay?"

I received an affirmative from the other line, just as I made a hard turn left. "Here I come, see you in a sec." I pulled up at the curb, to see a tear-stained woman with a pile of luggage at her side. I jumped out and embraced the woman. "Madeline!" I hugged her so tight, but I wanted to get her off this street, and out of the area.

I then loaded the luggage into the back of my black Rav4. Once Maddie was in the passenger seat, she told me we had to make a stop before returning to the apartment.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Everyone was home, even Bryan-who had recently taken to hanging around for days at a time and sleeping over, too. I wished Andy wasn't. I was sick of avoiding his eyes and leaving the room just as he was entering.

I walked in carrying an 8-month-old baby boy, who thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world that my curls would bounce back into place when he pulled on them. When we got in, I made introductions, and everyone got a chance to meet baby Cody.

Due to space restrictions, Maddie would have to share with me. We would either keep Cody with us, or put him with Paolo, and Bryan was just going to have to go home, or find space in Rose's old room with Chris.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Maddie," I turned toward the woman, "How do you feel about Cody sharing with Paolo?"

"That's fine. We'll be able to hear him, right?" She was un-packing, since we had informed Bryan of the move.

"Sure. It's just at the end of the hallway."

"That's good. What about Paolo, though?" Maddie was concerned about disrupting the other child.

"He'll be fine. If it becomes a big problem, we can move Cody in here with us."

"Alright." She was quiet, not acting like the Maddie I remember, but I guess that's to be expected. Her home life wasn't great with that…pig. Markas was a bad apple, and that's what scares me about Roxy; Vince is the same kind of guy. I let her be alone in what is newly "our room," so she could have the quiet time for thinking that she needs.

I went to check on her baby boy, and found Cody to be resting safely in Rose's arms. It's really funny, because Rose usually gets easily annoyed, gets grossed out by baby-spit, and can't handle crying one bit. There she was, though, with a sleeping baby in her arms, and a little hand wrapped tightly around a fistful of her hair.

I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Now who's Mrs. Mom," I whispered in her ear, and kissed her cheek, just for being so cute. She shot me a dirty look, but went back to watching Cody sleep. I swear she was enchanted.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Maddie?" I looked over to her side of the bed to see if she was still awake. She turned over to face me.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to talk at all? I can't sleep." I watched face darken at the mention of talk. I know she can't sleep, and that's the real reason for my lying away. "We can talk about anything…"

"Good memories?" She smiled. God it was good to see her smile. Normally she looked like a woman beat down by the world, but in that smile I could see the girl I remember. I reached over to cup her cheek, and told her how beautiful it was to see her smile.

She turned around again, and I moved behind her, pressing myself against her back and wrapping my right arm around her waist. I used my free hand to comb through her medium-brown curls. I was going to make her forget her troubles.

"Remember when Mom and Dad were still alive, it was a beautiful May day, and we went out for a picnic?"


End file.
